


You Know The Rules And So Do I

by LadySerendipitous



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien's bare chest, Alya and Nino are trying to wingman, F/M, Look at the title, Marinette is a clutz, Picnics, Well almost, akumas ruin everything, april fools joke, mlfrickroll, never gonna give you up, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 13:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10514268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySerendipitous/pseuds/LadySerendipitous
Summary: It was suppose to be a fun picnic for the four friends, but matchmakers and akumas both try to do things their way. Marinette just can't catch a break no matter which way she tries.





	

It was one of those sun filled afternoon, that made springtime in Paris so enjoyable. Marinette happily swung her picnic basket as she headed to Champ de Mars. She had elected they meet at Jardins du Trocadéro, but Alya had vetoed that idea claiming Marinette would get too distracted with inspiration.

Her best friend wasn’t exactly wrong.

So it was a with a smile on her face and a skip to her step that Marinette spotted the first of her friends for their outdoor lunch, Adrien. Happily she waved to him, even as he spotted her and jogged over to meet her. “Hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

Adrien shook his head. “Just got here a few minutes ago. Haven’t seen Nino or Alya yet.”

“Oh that’s good and I’m sure they’ll be here shortly,” she said to the blond with a smile. Her voice was clear and there was no stumbling up on her words. No, Marinette hadn’t gotten over her crush. If anything it had grown.

“I think I found a good spot,” Adrien said, leading her to where he had already put a blanket on the grass. Marinette knelt down on the fabric, putting her basket down.

“Should we set up now, or wait for them?” Marinette asked as she absently pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. It was weird being out in the daylight with him, doing such a normal thing like going on a picnic.

“Let’s get started. I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” Adrien said with a grin as he slowly reached over to open the lid to her basket.

Marinette chuckled as he reached in. “You just want to get to the pastries.”

“You’re not wrong,” he admitted, looking up at her with a gleam in his green eyes.

“Just one for now,” she told him as she leaned over to take out the sandwiches that she had made.

“Just one? Oh come on Bugaboo there’s so many!” Adrien mock complaint was accompanied with a pastry in each hand held up in demonstration.

Marinette didn’t think, she just leaned over and bopped his lips with a single finger. “What did we agree?”

Adrien’s face turned red even as Marinette settled back down on her heels. “Um, no… no identity stuff in public.” Marinette nodded at this belatedly realizing what she had done and feeling her own face warm with a blush. “But come on, no one is near us.”

“We still need to be careful,” Marinette said in a near whisper, looking down and pretending to be looking for something in the basket.

“Hey, if no one is around, can me and Tikki pop out?” Plagg’s little black head peeked out from Adrien’s outer shirt.

Marinette looked around frantically to be sure there really was no one around. There wasn’t but this was still an open park with people walking around. “No you can’t be out!”

“Don’t worry Plagg,” Tikki said with a giggle, her own head poking out of Marinette’s purse. “The picnic basket is big enough. We can hang out in there now that most of the food is gone.”

Marinette was still worried, but the kwamis were quick and inconspicuous as they flew into the basket. It was while Marinette was pulling out drinks that her phone rang. She passed over two of the bottles of soda to Adrien as she reached over to answer her phone? “Alya? Where are you?”

_”Sorry girl, I should have called sooner! I’m stuck with my sisters for a little while longer than expected.”_

Marinette pouted as she got up on her feet to pace. “Alya! The four of us have been planning this for weeks!”

_”I know, I know! I’ll make it up to you and Adrien later, I promise!”_

“What about Nino?” Marinette asked, starting to get suspicious. She glanced over at Adrien who picked up on her cue and pulled out his own phone texting his best friend.

_”I have different ways of making up with him you know.”_

“Fine, fine! I’m going to enjoy this sunny day. I hope you’re stuck inside,” Marinette said with no real malice.

_”If only I’d get so lucky. I’ve got to go but text me later.”_

After saying their goodbyes, Marinette ended the call and looked over at Adrien again who was frowning at his phone. Looking up at her he gave one of his heart melting smiles as he handed her one of sodas, now opened.“He claims he’s having trouble with the editing of a song and he’s not sure how long he’s going to be.”

“Of course he is,” Marinette said, amused but exasperated with her friends even as she waved her hands to emphasize her point. This was the wrong thing to do, as the soda, which she hadn’t even taken a sip of yet, was pointed right at her friend and partner.

The soda, a dark brown cola of the cherry variety did not hit Adrien’s hair, thankfully, but it did hit him square in the chest before Marinette was able to quickly get the soda bottle in an upright position. The damage was done. “Ohmy… I’msosorry!”

Adrien stood up off the blanket, peeling off his outer shirt and looking at the undershirt, which didn’t have as much damage. He lifted it up and Marinette, who was already in panic mode, felt her temperature spike once more as she looked at Adrien’s toned abs, no longer hidden under the fabric.

In the back of her mind she was wondering why this was holding her attention. She’d been running around with him in a supersuit for over a year now, granted only recently knowing it was Adrien. Still though, of course he had really really nice abs! Like even without being Chat Noir he worked out a lot!

“I wonder if I can rub this out,” Adrien mused aloud, snapping Marinette’s attention to the problem at hand.

“Why don’t we find some water? There should be a drinking fountain or something nearby,” she suggested as he let go of his shirt thankfully.

Adrien agreed and soon they were both walking together looking for some water to try to wash out the stains in Adrien’s shirts. Marinette apologized over and over again as they walked but Adrien just shook his head and smiled. He wasn’t worried too much about his clothes and thought it would make a funny story later.

 

“I’m not sorry,” Alya said as she and Nino walked to Champ de Mars together. “Neither of us lied. Just exaggerated the truth.”

“But do you really think this is all it will take? One semi-romantic picnic lunch and BOOM they’re dating?” Nino questioned. He wanted to believe it could happen, after all it was just getting awkward being around Adrien and Marinette of late. It had been bad enough when Marinette was pining after Adrien and he was oblivious and infatuated with Ladybug, but now it was both of them pining after each other and there was no way they were oblivious to the other’s feelings.

“I don’t have a panther cage unfortunately.” Alya grinned and Nino chuckled beside her. That had been some luck, even if it was indirectly due to an akuma and Ladybug. They walked through the green space hoping to find their friends. Maybe even see evidence that their make-shift plan had been fruitful instead of just calling to find their location.

What they didn’t expect to see was people starting to run at them screaming. That could only mean one thing. “I’ve got to get this for the Ladyblog.”

Nino sighed, and figured the best he could do is stay close and keep an eye out as Alya pulled out her phone and scanned the area for the akuma while Nino kept them from getting trampled upon.

Not too far away a figure in red came towards them. Nino felt relief for half a breath before he realized that was NOT Ladybug. The akumatized victim looked like a deranged Little Red Riding Hood, complete with picnic basket. Nino realized belatedly they were too exposed and the akuma had seen them.

Skipping in midair, the akuma stopped in front of them, looking at them curiously. Alya looked up from her phone, looking at the little girl. “Um, hi… Alya here with the Ladyblog. Would you like to tell the viewers why you got akumatized?”

It was the stress. It had to be. But in any case Nino just couldn’t keep his mouth shut as he turned from his stare of horror at the akuma to look at his girlfriend with exasperation. “Oh my gosh! You can’t just ask someone why they’re akumatized!”

“Why not? I asked you,” Alya retorted.

“Not WHILE I was akumatized,” Nino pointed out.

The argument did not get to be finished, for Red pulled out two walnuts from her basket and threw them at the squabbling couple, who became squabbling squirrels.

 

“This isn’t good,” Adrien said, his damp shirt forgotten.

Marinette nodded in agreement as the last of the civilians ran passed them. “We need to transform and take care of this.”

“Right. Plagg!” Adrien called out.

“Tikki, spo--- wait, they’re still at the blanket!” Marinette pointed out realizing neither of them had their kwamis.

“Oh great, we’re going to go towards the akuma without our powers,” Adrien ran a hand through his hair.

“Stop whining,” Marinette said, lightly smacking his with the back of her hand. Smacking his abs to be precise. His very very nice abs. “Focus!”

“Uh, right,” Adrien agreed with her a little confused as they cautiously made their way to their blanket. Fortunately there was no akuma around. Unfortunately their picnic was trampled and the basket was upended. 

“Tikki?”

“Plagg?”

The two young superheroes looked around for their kwamis, panic growing as the seconds ticked my. They moved from the blanket in a wider radius, calling out in loud whispers, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention in case the greenspace wasn’t as empty as it seemed or worse, the akuma came back in this direction. 

Finally Marinette heard some rustling near some well manicured trees and before she could prepare herself for possible trouble, two blobs flew out of a tree. “Marinette!”

“Tikki, Plagg, you’re both safe. Thank goodness.” Marinette nuzzled the two kwamis. “Adrien, over here!”

“Stupid akuma ruined a perfectly good meal,” Plagg grumbled as Adrien jogged in their direction. Marinette smiled at him, glad to be able to soon get this all over when a shadowy presence floated out from the trees further away from them. 

“What a darling pair you make,” the akuma said in a mocking sweet tone before throwing an apple in their direction. 

Adrien was a breath faster than Marinette, tackling her and causing them both to roll into some bushes. They held their breath, waiting to figure out of the akuma was going to come closer to do whatever the apple was going to do, but when they didn’t hear anything, Adrien cautiously lifted himself off of Marinette. 

“Thanks,” she whispered to him while he peaked out of the foliage to ensure the akuma was gone. 

“Any time my Lady,” Adrien said turning back, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. Chat Noir had done so a score or more times and while Marinette couldn’t say it didn’t affect her, because it did she just had bigger things usually to focus on, it was very very different having Adrien kiss her ungloved hand. It seemed he realized it too as he looked into her eyes, not moving, tightening his grip on her hand slightly. 

“Oh boy,” Plagg muttered. 

“Mairinette! Adrien! Akuma! Remember!” Tikki reminded them in her shrill voice. 

They jumped apart, both stammering apologies to each other and their kwamis before calming down enough to transform. It took Chat Noir and Ladybug a while to realize there should have been some people hiding. Yet no matter where they went in Champ de Mars all they saw were animals. At first that wasn’t any big deal until they realized how none of the animals were regular city animals. Hawks, not pigeons. Lots of deer roaming around, and was that a family of bears?

“Ladybug, Chat Noir, give me your Miraculouses, or prepare to have an Unhappily Ever After!” The akuma, from all appearances a younger girl in a red cape and carrying a picnic basket call out ahead of them, floating slightly off the ground. 

“Or you’ll what? Huff and puff and blow our miraculous off of us?” Chat Noir quipped even as Ladybug went off to the side, trusting her partner to keep her distracted. The taunting did it’s job and drew the akuma’s attention to the black cat hero. This isn’t to say the battle was easy, but with practiced teamwork Ladybug soon had the basket that housed the akuma, which she cleansed. She then threw into the air her lucky charm, a red and black spotted sponge (”Where was this earlier when I needed it?”) and thus reverted everyone back to their human form. 

As for the girl, she was soon reunited with her grandmother who she had had a spat with over food choices and health. Both seemed glad the other was okay. With a fistbump the heros fled the sceen. 

 

“Well with all that I sure worked up an appetite,” Adrien said as they strolled back in the direction of their picnic, sure that with everything resorted to normal their food should be there, unruined. 

“Fine kitty, you can have two pasties,” Marinette said with a giggle which earned her a big grin and Adrien wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled in return, feeling as though she could possibly get lost into his eyes. 

“There you two are.”

And Marinette tripped nearly taking both of them out. Once they recovered from their near spill, Adrien and Marinette looked up to find Nino and Alya waving at them from their blanket. 

“How did you…? When did you…?” Marinette tried and failed to recover from her surprise. Worse yet, Adrien’s arm moved off her shoulders. 

“We both finished up with our stuff and met each other before the akuma attack,” Alya explained. 

“We got targeted, and when everything was over we were near here and of course recognized Dupain-Cheng food, so we were waiting for you. Where were you dudes?” Nino finished the story. 

Marinette and Adrien glanced at each other, then at their friends. “A stroll,” they said in unison. 

Alya and Nino blinked in surprise but didn’t push for more explanation. Soon the four friends were all settled on the blanket sharing food with each other while listening to old 80s songs Nino was playing on portable speakers for ‘nostalgia feels’

As one song started to play Adrien narrowed his eyes and frowned at his friend. “Are you trying to meme us?”

“Hu?” Nino blinked in confusion. 

Marinette started laughing. “Adrien, it’s from the 80s!”

“Oh, I forgot that it was a legit song,” he admitted sheepishly. Marinette continued laughing even as she passed him something beyond his second pastry.


End file.
